Guards used tear gas Monday on hundreds of strikinworkers who were trying to storm a factory owned by the Arcelor Mittal Galati steel company in eastern Romania.

Some 3,600 steel workers have begun a strike at the plant to demand higher wages, said trade union leader Gheorghe Tiber in a statement.

The company is offering a monthly increase of 100 lei (US$44) for those earning the lowest salaries, and a percentage increase for those on higher salaries. The union wants each worker to have a monthly increase of at least 280 lei ($123).

Earlier Monday, about 800 striking steel workers threw water, bread and stones in the factory yard before trying to storm the building. They were repelled by guards.

"The allout strike is legal. We are expecting more employees to join the protest," Tiber told state news agency Rompres.The plant employs some 13,700 workers.AP